1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a process for dynamic management of a subscription for a terminal in xe2x80x9cprepaidxe2x80x9d mode.
2. State of Prior Art
This invention relates to a process for dynamic management of subscriptions in prepaid mode in a telecommunications network, within the framework of paying services.
The domain of the invention is telecommunications networks with mobile phones (for example CTM, DECT) and more generally any system accepting remote charging by the handset.
The invention does not claim the concept of prepaid services or cards, or the use of the intelligent network for implementing the service itself, but rather an innovative process for creating a xe2x80x9csubscriptionxe2x80x9d making use of information obtained with prepaid cards purchased by the customer, through the creation of a customer account which is actually a subscription number.
A prepaid card enables its bearer to receive a service from a service provider, the payment for this service being made in advance when the card is purchased.
A distinction has to be made between a virtual prepaid card and a non-virtual prepaid card. For a virtual prepaid card, all characteristics of the card, and particularly its credit, are managed by a centralized server. For a non-virtual prepaid card, the card itself contains this information. The telephone card is an example of a non-virtual prepaid card.
The invention only relates to virtual prepaid cards. Unlike non-virtual prepaid cards, which necessarily comprise a material device, there are two types of virtual prepaid cards:
cards composed of a single number; these are then immaterial virtual prepaid cards;
cards composed of a physical device; these are material virtual prepaid cards.
The use of prepaid cards has the following advantages:
A prepaid card, when used with a cordless mobile telephone, enables an operator to protect himself against unpaid bills and limit customer/information service interactions.
The billing system is simplified. The operator offers a conventional system for opening a subscription, involving the use of the information system to manage customers (open commercial file, send invoices, etc.) and a prepayment system for other customers (children, etc.).
The xe2x80x9cMobicartexe2x80x9d service (registered trademark) is an example of a rechargeable prepaid card. This is a service based on a process for which French patent applications (numbers 96 07761 and 96 07762 dated Jun. 21, 1996) have been deposited, and that uses a GSM smart card (SIM card) that gives a communications credit that can be recharged at any time and that offers a service operating in two steps:
The customer starts by purchasing a xe2x80x9cMobicartexe2x80x9d pack that contains a smart card (SIM) with thirty minutes of national communications valid for two months starting from the first call. This card is designed for the user to insert it in its telephone so that he can telephone immediately. The customer calls the Mobicarte server to determine his call number, and the card then allows the use of a telephone number for four months.
Once the communications credit has been exhausted, the customer can recharge his account using a thirty-minute xe2x80x9cMobicartexe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cscratch cardxe2x80x9d. The service management price is included in the communications price.
In order to telephone, the customer must firstly dial the number of the voice server that manages the service (number 222). The server activates the account and all that needs to be done then is to dial the correspondent""s number. A message indicates the remaining communication credit at the end of each call.
The customer must purchase a recharge in order to keep his credit. This is in the form of a xe2x80x9cscratch cardxe2x80x9d that can be purchased in GSM sales outlets, and which will gradually become available in all tobacconists (Government approved shops). This xe2x80x9cscratch cardxe2x80x9d comprises a fourteen-digit code to be entered on the keyboard, after connecting to the server. The effect of this simple manipulation is to credit the card with 30 minutes communication.
The xe2x80x9cMobicartexe2x80x9d is designed for use by anyone who needs a mobile telephone occasionally, for example during a voyage in France or in the case of a holiday rental. It is also suitable for anybody who would like to remain accessible, while enabling a few calls. . . . anybody who would like to remain accessible, while enabling a few calls.
With a xe2x80x9cMobicartexe2x80x9d, subscription data are created in advance in the network and are contained in the SIM card.
A document according to prior art, WO-A-96 15633, describes a system for administration of subscribers in a telecommunications network providing access to an intelligent network. This system comprises logic located at a control point in the intelligent network service and a subscribers database from a service data point associated with it by CCS signaling. Customer records in customer database are created, updated and deleted by the operator, but creation, write/read and erase functions may also be carried out through the telephone network associated with the intelligent network. The operator can activate the check without the customer being aware of it. The process thus used can be applied to the control of calls paid with a prepaid card. The user of a service then has an account code and a personal identification number (PIN). The customer call signal is directed towards the service check point using the account code as the direction key.
However, the purpose of the invention is a process for dynamic management of subscription data (in prepaid mode); creation and deletion by the database, making use of information on the xe2x80x9cscratch cardxe2x80x9d.
This invention proposes a process for dynamic management of subscription data for a terminal conform with a radio standard, so that data can be downloaded through a radio channel like DECT, PHS, IS-95, CT2, in xe2x80x9cprepaidxe2x80x9d mode, within a telecommunications network comprising at least one server, characterized in that the customer in possession of this type of terminal acquires two numbers, for example concealed on a prepaid card and in that, when a first access to the network is made from this terminal, at least the following two steps occur:
Remote personalization request from this terminal by entering the first number (authentication code supplied with the card), followed by downloading of an identity through the network into the terminal so that the terminal can be recognized.
Call the network server for this service from the terminal that indicates its identity and the user then dials this number, and if the authentication is correct, followed by the network sending a voice message to the terminal . . . authentication is verified, and at the end of this step the network actually credits the terminal account.
Advantageously, this process is such that:
in the first step:
the network assigns a personal user identity number (IPUI) and a directory number, to this terminal,
the network sends an acknowledgment to the terminal concerning the request for access rights and containing the user identity number,
the network assigns a telephone number associated with the user identity number, in its database,
the network sets a subscription flag T to be equal to xe2x80x9cpending remote personalizationxe2x80x9d,
in the second step:
the network receives a call from the terminal. This message contains the user identity number and the account number,
the network searches for the user identity number in the database and checks that the value of the T flag is equal to xe2x80x9cpendingxe2x80x9d,
starting from the account number, the network searches for the authentication key and the credit associated with the account,
the network initiates a key allocation procedure,
at the end of this procedure, the network stores the user""s long authentication key, the user identity number, the equipment identity number, the authentication code and the account number. These data are kept in case the remote personalization does not take place correctly,
if the authentication is correct, the network sends a voice message to the terminal indicating the new credit and the call number associated with the terminal,
the network sets the subscription flag T to xe2x80x9cremote personalizedxe2x80x9d;
in the third step, during the first authentication (outgoing call, localization or incoming call):
the network verifies that the value of the T flag is actually xe2x80x9cremote personalizedxe2x80x9d,
if the authentication is correct, the network actually credits the terminal account, it erases the authentication code and the associated account number and sets the T flag to be equal to xe2x80x9csubscription certifiedxe2x80x9d;
for subsequent outgoing calls, after correct authentication, the network is capable of:
verifying that the terminal has sufficient units to make the call,
sending voice messages to inform the customer that he has exceeded some thresholds,
cutting off the current communication if the terminal has used all its units,
decrementing units used at the end of the call and updating the remaining credit.
Advantageously, when the customer wants to credit his account, he enters a new authentication code given on a new scratch card and then:
the network receives a call containing an access right request; this message contains the equipment identity number of the terminal;
the network searches for this equipment identity number in the database; it finds the user identity number allocated during the first access;
the network sends the xe2x80x9cAccess right acceptancexe2x80x9d message containing the user identity number to the terminal allocated at the time of the first access.
The following steps take place in exactly the same way as the second and third steps described previously, the call number allocated during the first access no longer changing.
Advantageously, the customer can call a voice server at any time in order to determine his call number and the credit remaining on his account.
The invention implements this process using a prepaid card that contains two hidden scratch numbers; an authentication code and an account number.
The process according to the invention has many advantages:
the operator can use the prepaid card to protect himself against unpaid invoices and to limit interactions between customers and the information system;
there is no invoicing sequence for the subscription considered;
the information system is not used for this type of subscription, which is created dynamically during the first access to the network;
the prepaid card enables any fringe of potential customers who are unable or unwilling to pay subscriptions, setup costs or other service startup costs, to access the mobile service;
it makes it possible to keep the same telephone number, even when adding more credit with a new prepaid card.